The "iPhone 17 Air" is credited increasingly often with starting a new ultra-slim smartphone trend, despite being a mere rumor at the time of writing. Redmi could be next to try and break into it, according to the latest leaks. Xiaomi's popular sub-brand might need precision engineering to do so, though.

The "17 Air" is yet again backed to be under 6 millimeters (mm) in depth in its latest leak, a post that has prompted Redmi's general manager Wang Teng Thomas to express enthusiasm for the release of such an iPhone, declaring that the industry could "learn a lot" from its existence.

The executive's new Weibo post is now being seized on as a strong hint that Redmi might launch an ultra-thin challenger of its own, following the successful release of its own iPad Mini clone in the 6.5mm thick K Pad.

Should the Xiaomi subsidiary do so, it might need to employ Apple's alleged new milling process that apparently pares the 17 Air's mid-frame from both sides to achieve the desired thickness in order to make its own super-slim smartphone.